Publicly finance elections

By Karen Scharff and Cynthia DiBartolo, Commentary

Updated 4:05 pm, Thursday, January 23, 2014

Four years ago this week, the Supreme Court's decision in Citizens United unleashed a torrent of private money from the very wealthy into American politics. And just as suddenly, the vast majority of Americans — wage earners, small business owners and others without the means to buy political access — found their voices marginalized. One person, one vote is a worthy goal. One dollar, one vote is not.

But now in New York we have a once-in-a-generation opportunity to change course.

Gov. Andrew Cuomo proposed comprehensive campaign finance reform, including public funding of state elections, in his budget announcement this week.

The governor proposed a statewide system to finance credible candidates for public office, based on New York City's model, which has been successful for more than two decades.

This is how it will work: Candidates who opt to participate in the program agree to limit the size of contributions they receive, at a level far lower than permitted under current state law. In exchange, small contributions from individual donors are matched on a 6-1 basis by public funds. So a $25 contribution — from a real person, not a committee or outside group, is worth $175 to a candidate.

Like the governor, Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver has long been steadfast in his support for public campaign financing. But Republican Senate Leader Dean Skelos has announced his die-hard opposition to any use of public money for people who wish to serve in public office, as a matter of conservative principle.

This argument is unpersuasive. Republican Bill Fitzpatrick, co-chairman of the Moreland Commission to Investigate Public Corruption, has said our campaign finance system routinely wastes taxpayer dollars, with special interest checks driving policy and costing millions in public funds. Fitzpatrick, initially a skeptic, now believes its savings to taxpayers "will be astronomical in the long run." Indeed, comprehensive campaign finance reform is also quite cheap. Independent experts estimate the cost to be $3 per New Yorker per year. That pales to the hundreds of millions we currently spend on hidden "tax expenditures" and sweetheart deals benefiting special interests.

And meanwhile, the real agenda for working New Yorkers, and the small- and medium-sized businesses that provide most of our state's jobs — is neglected. Better schools that prepare students for college and jobs, improved infrastructure, revitalization of the upstate economy — how much more could Albany accomplish? Working New Yorkers and business owners are coming together behind change. Our organizations have very different constituencies — the Greater New York Chamber of Commerce represents more than 20,000 business and civic leaders, while Citizen Action is composed of 20,000 grass-roots activists. But we agree that real reforms can restore the public's trust that our elected officials are really listening to New Yorkers. We all want competitive elections with diverse candidates, which would be good for constituents, business sustainability, and the state's overall fiscal health.

And we're not alone. New Yorkers know that the key to reforming Albany is public funding of elections. As this week's Siena poll showed, approximately two-thirds of New Yorkers, in every part of the state and across party lines, support publicly funded elections for state candidates.

The governor has taken an enormous leap forward for the people of New York, and now it's the Legislature's turn to act. No system is perfect. But this is a real chance to finally reform Albany's pay-to-play culture, and start a national movement to return our democracy to the voters.